Two companies plead guilty to unlawfully importing corals from Vietnam

Two aquatic companies pleaded guilty this week to federal criminal charges for illegally importing protected live corals from Vietnam, concealing their unlawful activity, and submitting false records with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The United States Attorney’s office…

Crazy Vietnamese Rhodactis come in a rainbow of color

When Dreamcorals announced the availability of ‘very special Rhodactis’ on it’s sponsored part of the Dutch Marine Forums, we were surprised to see a picture of mushroom anemones which we indeed had never seen before. And not only that, they…

Orange frogspawn coral from Vietnam is jaw-dropping and stunning

In the recent years, we’ve seen quite a number of “orange” Euphyllia trickling in from Australia and Indonesia such as the famous orange hammer coral, and the pretty elusive orange branching frogspawn coral. Unfortunately, as the popularity for these exotic Euphyllias peaked,…

Early imports of Vietnam mushroom anemones include a few showstopping morphs

We knew that Vietnam stony corals were coming but who would have thunk that some highly tenticularized forms of beaded Discosoma mushroom anemones would be the first unique corals from that region. The Vietnam mushroom anemones pictured were imported by …

Sexy blue spotted squamosa clam from Vietnam appears at Reefkoi

If you needed any indication that the reef aquarium season is ramping up, other than the plethora of livestock posts we’ve published recently, then this blue spotted squamosa clam from Reefkoi ought to be a good indicator. Reefkoi’s been tanking…

Vietnam may soon begin exporting hard corals

Details are scant but we’ve just got word that Vietnam may soon begin exporting stony corals. So far we’ve only seen some soft corals, giant clams and fish species exported from Vietnam. The most notable Vietnamese marine life exports have…

Ecosystems of Vietnam’s long coastline are in peril

It was the destruction of coral reef and over-fishing that moved artist Nguyen Lieu to paint brightly coloured canvasses warning Vietnamese that their coastal environment is in peril. “Nha Trang is the most beautiful bay recognized worldwide but exploitation there…

Coral Oasis Brings in The Zenith of Smooth Skin Acropora

Coral Oasis, a store based in Hanoi, Vietnam, has brought in, hands down, one of the best smooth skins I have ever laid eyes on. I spoke to the owner, who told me they had the piece for around six…

Aquarium Safety: How to Identify and Remove Dangerous Palythoa Corals

As someone who makes a living growing and distributing aquarium corals, I am always on the lookout for exciting new varieties. Among the myriad groups of corals, Zoanthids are always among the most popular. It was with this mentality that…

Mature Filter Media is Still the Quickest Way to Avoid the Ugly Phase

Cycling, and dealing with Diatoms, Dinoflagellates, and Cyanobacteria are the biggest setbacks for the new reefkeeper but they can be avoided. Bottled bacteria have their place and live rock and live sand their pros and cons, but the quickest, easiest,…